A fire boss is a person employed at a mine or state certified official, responsible for examining a mine for dangers, particularly explosive, poisonous or suffocating gases.
It may also loosely refer to a foreman or shift manager for the miners.
In the early days of mining the fire boss would wear thick clothing, usually soaked in water, and walk through the mine with a lit candle affixed to a long stick.
If there were pockets of explosive gases the candle would ignite them, often not sparing the boss on the other end.
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